


Merging Umami

by Pyrolitheus



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, 食戟のソーマ | Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Genre: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Shokugeki, Tea, umami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyrolitheus/pseuds/Pyrolitheus
Summary: A super short story celebrating two creative minds merging through the pursuit of umami and creating excellent mouth-watering experiences.This story will technically make sense if you have not watched one or both of the shows, but it will be a LOT richer if you have seen them both as it is written from the assumption that the reader is familiar with the characters. The setting may not make sense unless you have seen the second season of "Avatar" and enough of "Shokugeki no Soma" to know what a Shokugeki arena is.
Kudos: 9





	Merging Umami

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler warnings for this fic: Book 2 of "Avatar: Last Airbender."

In two worlds, two great men stood ready for battle. One wielded a chef’s knife. The other, a kettle. The man with the knife stood alone against a sole opponent, his granddaughter. The man with the kettle braced himself for an onslaught, supported by only his nephew.

“Let this Shokugeki begin,” cried the head judge in the world with the man with the knife. The old man and his young opponent moved smoothly to begin preparing their ingredients. They had only two hours before they would present their dishes to the panel of three judges. The arena was packed. This match was televised. Everyone watching was tense. No one had seen two members of the Nakiri family go head to head in a Shokugeki in generations, and no one dared to predict the winner.

In the other world, at the exact moment the opponents began their match, the tea shop door opened. The first customers of the day’s rush came pouring in. The man with the kettle smiled and encouraged his nephew to greet them.

In both worlds, the great men rose to their tasks with precision, care, and the measured flair of experienced creativity. They had nothing in mind but the pleasure of serving something delicious to entice taste buds into a glorious experience.

There came a moment when their thoughts aligned so well that they nearly Merged. When two people think the same thought in every nuance at the same time, no matter who they are or how far apart they may be, they become aware of one another. This happens so rarely that most languages do not have a name for it, but most of those that do use words that loosely translate to “the Merging.”

The man with the knife paused in the arena filled with the cheers of students and chefs. He looked sharply at his opponent. He thought he had smelled jasmine blossoms ever so briefly, but jasmine would not make sense with the theme of this Shokugeki: pork cutlets. His eyes narrowed. _“What has Erina come up with?”_ Even as his eyes narrowed, he found his lips smirking in approval. If she had in fact discovered a use for jasmine blossoms that paired well with pork cutlets, he would be impressed.

The same moment that the man with the knife thought he smelled jasmine blossoms, the man in the tea shop thought he heard cheering and smelled a strange kind of meat. Ever so briefly, notes of half-caramelized onions and red wine mid-reduction caressed his nose. He paused in confusion, uncertain about the kind of meat he was smelling. Possum-chicken? No, this was not that gamey. Hog-duck? Close, but not quite. The scent faded before he could recognize the meat.

"Lee,” the man said to his nephew, “Did you smell that meat just now?”

“What meat?”

“I could have sworn I just smelled the most delicious meat being cooked. It smelled so good I even imagined people were cheering for it!”

“You imagined the smell, too, Uncle.”

The old man shrugged and continued to work. His nephew would not believe him, but that did not stop him from pondering delicious recipes to make for dinner after the rush ended.

The two great men continued their work. The one with the knife prepared one dish for three people. The one with the kettle prepared several dishes for many people. But, there was one special guest he took extra care to prepare for. Special leaves steeped in cold water, waiting for this guest.

The two hours nearly passed.

The special guest arrived at the tea shop. The tea master beamed and picked up the special tray. The old man in the Shokugeki picked up the three plates he had so carefully prepared. Both men turned in unison. As they each took the first step, they filled with the contented calm of a job well done. With the second step, each heart picked up slivers of anticipation for the reaction to their creations. With the third step, their minds held the exact same concept with all the same small nuances. It was a complex thought, one centered around the abstract joy of creating an experience for someone’s mouth and the various forms of value this joy can have for both the individual and the community. In that moment, the Merging happened.

The two great men were suddenly completely aware of each other’s existence, thoughts, emotions, and everything in the other’s life leading up to that moment. They could see through their own eyes and each other’s, hear with each set of ears, feel with each set of hands, smell with each set of nostrils. Anice and jasmine mingled with pork and ginger, building the combined umami to new heights and giving them new ideas. They smiled. They appreciated each other fully. They took a fourth step, aware together of each other’s audience. 

_“So this is the combined power of a master tea crafter and a master chef,”_ they thought. 

The Merging ended with the next step they took, as distractions in each place drew each individual’s attention. Uncertain of what they had just experienced, they approached the end of their walks dedicated to the pursuit of the umami they had glimpsed together.


End file.
